Initial Training II

Sammi and Ella staked-out

At 16-weeks Sammi and Ella are coming along nicely. Most recently, both pups have been introduced to the stakeout. Initially they didn't care too much for the stake and chain, and its restraint; they pulled at it, bit it, flopped-around trying to get away from it, whimpered, cried, and made a big fuss. After they settled-down a bit, I fed them, and their view of the stakeout changed a bit. I've had them on stakeout four times, each time with six to eight other dogs; the two pups in the middle, with the older dogs on each side. I think the company of other dogs is good when making this transition from "puppy freedom" to a world of more obedience.
Both are still outfitted with their fixed checkcords and have been introduced to the full-size version with which I've begun their initial work on the "here" command. Both pups new what "here" means before their introduction to the checkcord, but now I'm starting to enforce the command, making sure that they come to me whenever I call them.

Broke on Pigeons

Indian Head Whiski (Jim) standing his birds

Both Jim and Pete are pointing their birds (pigeons) and holding at the flush and shot. In the bird field both dogs are still dragging a check cord and are equipped with an e-collar as they have been throughout the entire training process. As noted in an earlier blog, I do not work my dogs into birds with the cord, I use it to stop them, at some point in their bird-work, when they decide to chase. I believe that check cording dogs into birds can create a number of problems which stem from the handler "whoaing a dog up" when they think the dog is in the scent cone; I like the dog to tell me it's got the bird. The next step in the process is to introduce them to liberated birds.....

Initial Training

Ella and Sammi at 14-weeks with checkcords

Both Ella and Sammi have been outfitted with checkcords; a piece of 3-foot long,1/4-inch, heavy-duty nylon cord, fixed to their collars.  At about 13-weeks, I fix a checkcord to the collar of my puppy. This is the pups initial introduction to yard work. The pup will drag this little checkcord around for the next month; eating, sleeping, running, walking and tripping over it; breaking itself to the lead. After a month of living with that cord, there is no reaction from the pup when I clip it to a lead to start it's initial yard work. The pup just goes about business; no attacking the lead, no rolling around in the dirt to escape, no biting, no pulling, no whining, no whimpering; the pup doesn't focus on the lead, the pup is ready to go to work.